Research by one of the country's leading teaching unions has revealed that Glasgow schools are the worst in Britain when it comes to ensuring that children leave with any qualifications. The survey, by the University and College Union (UCU), shows a clear educational gulf across the UK, with Glasgow firmly rooted at the bottom of educational attainment levels.

Worst in the British league table was the Glasgow North East constituency where a staggering 35% of adults have no qualifications at all. Other constituencies joining the Springburn-centred constituency in the 'top 10' of the educational roll of shame included Glasgow East (4th worst) and Glasgow South West (8th worst).

Speaking about the figures, Sally Hunt, the UCU's general secretary said:

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"There is a clear Glasgow-Edinburgh divide in Scotland. One city with education and the massive personal benefits it can bring, and the other without.

Education is central to our country's future, yet in some areas thousands of people still have no qualifications. There is a real danger that children, growing up in places where it is not unheard of to have no qualifications, will have their ambition blunted and never realise their full potential."

A Glasgow City Council spokeswoman responded:

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"We will continue to work to ensure every young person leaves school with the skills and confidence to equip them for later life. The council is committed to improve the life chances of every young person in our schools.

Glasgow has been leading the way in a range of qualifications, matching the individual needs of the pupil, and youngsters have been very successful in gaining vocational qualifications in partnership with our colleges."

Tell us about your experiences of Glasgow schools - were they the best days or your life, or do you regret that they did not help you reach your full potential?

I went to Wellshot School in Tollcross, Glasgow East End, as I have caught up with classmates they have good jobs and are all over the world, maybe the system has changed over the years, but dont you think school is what children put into their learning experiences. I think the parents need to be more involved in their childrens' schooling. I certainly learned a lot and it has stood me in great stead, God bless the Miss Chisholms, Mary and Jean.

An interesting topic to be sure. i went to saint gerards in govan for 4 1/2 years leaving half way through the 5th year. sad to say i experienced utter boredom for most of those years. and my lot was not too unusual because most of those who had started off with me in year 1 were gone well before my departure. pity. as it turned out i picked up on my education when i came to america and eventually ended my career as a professor in my adopted country.tr

Both of you spoke very clearly about your schooling, i think what a young person puts into his or her school work is what they will gain in life , in ferndale michigan usa , the school i attended didn't give me what i needed in life , it was after that i earned my engineers degree in the army , but i don't think what a school teaches is going to make us great , its what you do afterwards that makes the differants, i am 74 years young , an still learning , God Bless the Teachers, they can only do what they do best , TEACH , READING , MATH., THE FUNDIMENTALS OF SCHOOLINGclarence potter sr or tarheels, or reilly on the netmy 2 cents worth

This is so sad! Who are the pupils in Glasgow schools now?? Who are their parents? What is their upbringing? I went to two public junior schools in Glasgow..Holmlea Rd school in Holmlea Rd Cathcart and Victoria school in Govanhill Glasgow...then Queen's Park Senior Sec School. Had a great education!!! What is going on now?????

I went to Albert Secondary in Springburn, leaving in '76, and was one of the guys who went through the motions of going to school not achieving many certificates, 2 o'levels. It has taken years to understand that there were some kids that the teachers give up on because they are so overwhelmed by the system. 35 in a class at the time wasn't unheard off.

With schools now having up to 36 different languages it is no wonder the education system is failing the poorer parts of the country.

Rumcdonald asks whats going on now in our schools. I would answer possibly the modern equivalent of what I experienced in my secondary school in the late sixties early seventies. We were taught by a gang of old dinosaurs, who wore billowing black cloaks and who's battle cry was "keep to the left" and "boys stairs for boys and girls stairs for girls". It used to be a senior secondary but those days had long gone, a fact which the incumbent staff seemed to be unaware of. We had a very old Maths teacher who smelled of urine and used inappropriate behaviour towards the female students. An English teacher who, if not already pissed, would leave the class and have a snort in the adjacent store room, (sometimes forgetting to come back). There were, of course, young teachers coming through the ranks but I think they felt as helpless as the pupils. Half of these older guys should have been retired early to prevent the embarassment they brought on themselves personally and the school in general.

It counts as another of those distinctions a great city could do without ... in terms of education, Glasgow is a catastrophe.

There is no other useful word, but nor is there a useful explanation. Governments come and go. Wave after wave of reforms are enacted. Brave promises are made, generation after generation. And in 2011 the Glasgow North East constituency achieves the worst educational rating in the entire United Kingdom. Of its children, 35.3% have left school – have been allowed to leave school – with not a single qualification.

This is not just a matter of abstruse, difficult subjects, or even of those courses which are, in legend, “dumbed down” or “too easy”. UCU is saying that in north-east Glasgow 35.3% are functionally illiterate, certainly innumerate, and as ignorant of the world – of how the world works – as visitors from another, barren planet. By this measure, even the notion of vocational education is a joke.

You could console yourself, or find a feeble excuse, in the idea that a single constituency is uniquely afflicted. That won’t do. The UCU further reports that every last part of Glasgow is below the UK average for attainment in exams, while every Edinburgh constituency sits in the top third. As a native of the capital, even I’m surprised. The conclusion is not that Edinburgh is entitled to boast – not by a long chalk – but that Glasgow’s crisis is profound. ...

My nephew asked me to check over his homework, an essay which he was to hand in the following the following day. When I pointed out his spelling mistakes he told me that because we all use computers now, spelling is not important because we have a spell check which corrects your mistakes.

Lookin through his book I found the teacher totally ignored spelling mistakes. Not the way forward I think!

I attended Finnieston school , left in 1962, was sorry to leave ,because the teachers really cared for us ,and taught us well. I did not leave with any qualifications as such, but passed all my examinations.

They also instilled a sense of discipline and common decency ,which I feel is lacking in some quarters today ,and of course this should start in the home.

I went on to further my qualifications (electrical) at night school, and colleges through the years and, have travelled and worked around the world in an electrical consultancy capacity.

I have to say they were the best days of my life, although I didnt know it at the time. Speaking from personal experience I went to Barmulloch primary before my family decided (due to my fathers new job) to move south. When I got to my new school (in a rural area) it was discovered that my level of education was above that of the new school and I was moved up a primary. It may be different now I dont know but thats my experience of that time.

... When I pointed out his spelling mistakes he told me that because we all use computers now, spelling is not important because we have a spell check which corrects your mistakes.

Mmmm ... and what spell check does the spell check have?That and "Txting" might have a lot to answer for.

I once attended an evening class; over here, to help me learn German. There were about 20 or more in the class and all of different nationalities including Chinese. The class could only advance as fast as the slowest student. Seeing that right away, I quit.

As a kid in school just outside Glasgow, lagging behind was discouraged. Pupils were pushed on to keep up with the rest of the class.Maybe that's what went wrong.

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"Destiny is a good thing to accept when it's going your way. When it isn't, don't call it destiny; call it injustice, treachery, or simple bad luck.” ― Joseph Heller, God Knows

Like Terry, I too went to St Gerard's S.S. School and, regrettably, did not fare too well there. However, that had very little to do with the School, the System or the Teachers, it was down to myself. Retrospectively, there is no doubt that the opportunities were there, in abundance, as many others went on to prove - this was purely a personal problem and difficulties I happened to be going through at that stage in my life.

I think that the schools do as good a job as can be expected of them given the myriad of changes, not all for the best, that have taken place within the education system over the last 30-40 years. It is not the schools nor teaching staff that gives me any cause for concern in the present times, it is the attitude of the public in general and certain parents in particular, some of which is deplorable and has a deleterious impact on their children if they could but take a step back and look at what they are doing.

Small wonder that teachers leave the profession early or embark on long-term sick leave with depression and/or stress disorders.

Oh, yes, and the various Governments have not exactly covered themselves in glory where the education system is concerned - they are the root and branch cause of much many of the present-day problems.

As someone who made a spectacular hash of his own education, perhaps I have a bit of a cheek articulating in the manner I have done. However, I put five children through Universities after their normal schooling and have therefore had first hand experience over the last 25 years of the education system and believe it is in reasonable shape overall - I think !

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